Pointe-à-Pierre ( ) is a town in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. It lies north of San Fernando and south of Claxton Bay. It is most famous as the site of the country's largest (and now, only)

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liq ...

which used to be run by Petrotrin, the state-owned oil company. The town was built for and is populated by employees of the company. Facilities provided for the residents include a primary school, a yacht club and a staff club equipped with a pool, tennis courts and squash courts (and in the mid-1960s an 18-hole golf course and a secondary school, of which only the golf course remains). The oil refinery was originally built by Trinidad Leaseholds Limited (TLL) and expanded by

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company unt ...

. It was transferred to Trintoc when the government purchased the land-based assets of Texaco Trinidad Limited, and then incorporated into Petrotrin. The town is also the home of the world-famous

Pointe-à-Pierre Wild Fowl Trust Founded in 1966, the Pointe-à-Pierre Wild Fowl Trust is a not for profit environmental non-government organisation dedicated to environmental education and the conservation of wetlands and waterfowl. Located in Pointe-à-Pierre, Trinidad and T ...

, a wildlife reserve for

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which ...

located within the secured premises of the Petrotrin oil refinery. Pointe-à-Pierre is separated from Marabella by the

Guaracara River The Guaracara River, located in south Trinidad, runs westward approximately 30 km long, out of the Central Range and drains into the Gulf of Paria. It forms the boundary between the city of San Fernando (to the south) and the Couva-Tabaquite-T ...

and from Gasparillo by the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway. It lies on the Gulf of Paria and is an important port for the export and import of

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

products. At the southern edge of Pointe-à-Pierre lies

Guaracara Park Guaracara Park is a cricket and football ground owned and operated by Trinidad and Tobago's state enterprise that primarily deals with the refining of crude petroleum, Petrotrin. It is located within the confines of their oil refinery at Pointe ...

, known for its cricket matches.

Notable people

* Stephen Ames, golfer * Floella Benjamin, actress and TV presenter *

Dale de Neef Dale Nicholas de Neef (born 21 March 1956) is a Trinidadian-born Scottish former cricketer. de Neef was born in British Trinidad at Pointe-à-Pierre in March 1956. He was educated in Trinidad at St Peter's School, before emigrating to England ...

, cricketer * David Jenkins, sprinter * Trevor McDonald, news presenter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pointe-A-Pierre Populated places in Trinidad and Tobago Ports and harbours of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad (island) Gulf of Paria